The present invention relates generally to industrial containers for transporting and storing landscaping materials, and more specifically to a ramp wall for such containers.
Industrial containers are used for a range of purposes, including hauling trash, work materials, debris, or any other material with a mass that requires a load bearing, rigid structure. The materials that are typically placed in these containers can be heavy and difficult to manage, often times requiring the use of heavy-duty equipment to load and unload them. The loading equipment may include things such as a backhoe, crane, large truck, or other similar device. When these devices haul, load and unload materials, it is beneficial to provide an opening at one end of the container to allow for easier loading and unloading.
Beyond the benefits providing an opening at the end of a container, it can be even more beneficial to provide a ramp wall having a load-bearing structure which can support the weight of a backhoe, truck or similar device. Such a ramp wall includes the structural enclosure features of a side or back wall along with the capabilities of a ramp. This allows for securing heavy materials within the container and also a structure by which heavy equipment can enter the container at one end and more easily load or unload materials in and out of the container.
Applicant owns a number of patents relating to containers with a ramp wall. The Melancon U.S. Pat. No. 9,067,524 discloses a container with a ramp wall that can be pivotally displaced between a vertical closed position and a horizontal loading position by way of a hydraulic motor. The Melancon U.S. Pat. No. 9,884,575 patent discloses a similar ramp wall but uses helical counter-balancing springs that bias the ramp wall instead of a hydraulic motor. Prior load-bearing walls of industrial containers could not be manually displaced with such ease.
Though the ramp walls discussed above are beneficial and provide improved ease of loading and unloading of materials by large pieces of equipment, they can make loading and unloading of lighter materials that do not require heavy equipment more challenging than it would otherwise be with a door or other non-ramp wall structure. Thus, there is a need for a ramp wall or similar device that can provide both the loading capabilities of the containers and ramp walls of the aforementioned Melancon patents, but also allow for easier access to the container when such heavy-duty loading is not needed, similar to containers that have a door rather than a ramp wall. A ramp wall and door have been used separately with containers, but a single device that serves as both a ramp and a door is needed.